Background

During my time as Senior Interaction Designer with the Google Workspace Growth team, I was committed to crafting product solutions that drove revenue growth. Recognizing the value of continuous learning, I applied the 70-20-10 model, dedicating 20% of my time to personal development initiatives. This project, born from that commitment, aimed to spark engaging discussions about color, illustration, and brand application within Google Workspace.

While I initially aimed to present the concept to my team and potentially the broader department during my time at Google, circumstances prevented its completion within that timeframe. However, I remained invested in the project and have since taken the initiative to finalize it independently. I believe it holds significant value and am eager to share the details included.

Illustration Inspiration

In a recent initiative, the Material Design team commissioned Janet Mac and Patrick Dias to create a library of thirty 3D avatars. These diverse and versatile character illustrations are intended to empower Google designers and engineers to integrate them into both internal and external mockups and final products. Beyond their immediate utility, these avatars serve as a potential glimpse into Google's growing embrace of 3D design, suggesting exciting possibilities for future applications.

Workspace Illustrations

Building upon the success of the previously mentioned illustrators, I designed a distinct set of illustrations for Google Workspace. Leveraging Blender for its 3D capabilities, these new characters embody the same "play and delight" principle, offering an additional creative direction for Workspace design.

This project not only allowed me to expand my design repertoire to include 3D illustrations, but also presented an opportunity to delve into the capabilities of Blender. While I acknowledged a steeper learning curve due to the software's unique interface, I successfully mastered its functionalities to achieve my design goals. Building on this experience, I plan to expand my skillset further by exploring Unity, which offers additional opportunities for interactive and immersive design experiences.

Divison Hue Concept

Many Google properties, including Google Workspace, currently rely on brand guidelines established in 2015, predominantly featuring white backgrounds and primary brand colors. While this established look serves its purpose, it can appear outdated. Inspired by the modern design language of Material You and Material 3, I developed "DivisionHue," a concept that adapts Material Design principles for the web.

DivisionHue replaces the sterility of white backgrounds with vibrant color floods and replaces punchy brand elements with more refined, monochromatic hues, aligning with Material Design's emphasis on user-centricity. While Android's Dynamic Color system personalizes a user's phone environment based on custom settings, directly replicating this functionality on the web isn't currently feasible. DivisionHue addresses this by offering an alternative approach that delivers color, separation, and a warmer visual experience for users.

Current v. Revised

To maintain continuity for the Workspace team and prioritize their focus on key design elements like color, separation, warmth, and illustration, I intentionally retained the existing copy, structure, and general layout of the website. While the website structure remained largely unchanged, I implemented strategic design improvements where necessary to enhance the user experience. These targeted interventions addressed specific areas that required refinement without introducing major changes that could potentially disrupt user behavior.

This approach balanced the need for a fresh aesthetic with the importance of maintaining familiarity and ease of navigation for the Workspace team.

Dynamic Logos

The existing brand mark for Workspace utilizes the Google brand colors in a grouping of property logos. To effectively integrate with DivisonHue's monochromatic design principles, an update to this element was necessary. I developed a new set of monochromatic property logos to achieve this seamless integration and maintain brand recognition.

Marketing Channels

Example showcasing how DivisonHue could enhance a marketing channel for Google Workspace. My experience within the Google Workspace Growth team emphasized the importance of implementing product changes that directly contribute to user acquisition and growth. DivisonHue aligns with this objective by providing a fresh, user-centric design approach that can potentially attract and engage new audiences.

Artifact — Kickoff

To lay a solid foundation for the project, I developed a comprehensive Brand Guidelines document. This living document served as a strategic roadmap, ensuring visual consistency and brand alignment throughout the design process and beyond.

Reflection — My final thoughts

While I regret not being able to present this project to my former team, I'm proud of the work and enjoyed the exploration. Observing Google's brand and property evolution is always fascinating, and I'm curious to see what innovative design solutions their talented team will develop in the future. Who knows, perhaps their future direction might resonate with some of the concepts I explored in this project.